‘After nearly annihilating the world, the relatives have become allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed was almost 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in books, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that people can be allies or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend